The U.S. House of Representatives had the chance to stand with the private sector, professional and nonprofit stakeholder organizations to reaffirm its strong commitment to support the development, adoption and implementation of private sector-led, consensus-based model building energy codes. Instead, the House chose to pass the North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act of 2015 (H.R. 8), which includes language that threatens to reduce understanding of the potential full impacts of the model building energy codes by likely limiting the technical assistance that the U.S. Department of Energy currently provides, upon request, to ASHRAE, the International Code Council, States and Indian tribes for the development, adoption and implementation of these model codes.

“While ASHRAE is disappointed with the passage of this language, we applaud the efforts of Representative Peter Welch (D-VT-At Large) in seeking an amendment to H.R. 8 that would have replaced the harmful building energy codes language with language from the bipartisan Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act of 2015 (H.R. 2177),” ASHRAE President David Underwood said.

Previously introduced by Representatives Welch and David McKinley (R-WV-1), H.R. 2177, is widely supported and has been carefully negotiated over a number of years, embodying the collective wisdom of many.

“ASHRAE remains hopeful that Congress will ultimately demonstrate its support for market-driven energy efficiency by enacting legislation that protects the development, adoption and implementation of private sector-led, consensus-based model building energy codes,” added Underwood.